Letter from the CEO

Dear Friends of Katadyn,

The poor weather during the first half of the year has almost been forgotten, and the outdoor season is in full swing. The poor start left a small hole in the registers of many dealers; however, the attitude is overwhelmingly positive that business will recover in the coming months.

In any case, we nature enthusiasts and outdoor athletes can all be found outside again. It doesn’t matter at all whether we are out and about on trails or rivers, on forest paths or rocks. The main thing is that we do what we do out of passion.

With this in mind, I wish you all an inspiring outdoor summer!

Trix Ammann

CEO

Did you know?

Optimus optimizes the outdoor cooking experience

At the OutDoor Show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, the Katadyn Group presented a new cook system and practical accessories under the Optimus brand. The small touches are what transform cooking outdoors into an optimal experience with full-bodied taste. The new accessories line from Optimus ensures outdoor gourmets don’t have to go without the finer ingredients to spice up a meal during preparation and guarantees an extra special outdoor cooking experience.

New: Optimus Elektra FE Cook System

When it comes to the Elektra FE (Fuel Efficient) cook system, it‘s all in the name: It uses less fuel and at the same time is more powerful than other systems. The Elektra FE cook system consists of the Crux Lite gas stove (3,000 W), a heat exchange pot with a lid, a convenient clip-on windshield (which reduces gas consumption and boil time) and a handheld piezo ignitor. Due to its compact size the Elektra FE cook system fi ts easily into a day pack and adds hardly any weight.

New: Optimus Crux Lite Piezo

The Crux Lite is a powerful burner for fast boil time and one of the lightest stoves in the world. It is now also available as Crux Lite Piezo with a syringe style piezo ignitor for easy ignition of the stove. The handheld Optimus Sparky ignitor is also available on its own.

New: Optimus BOB

Marketing & Events

The Katadyn Group shows its new products at the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen

From July 11-14, 2013, the outdoor industry came together for its large annual summit at the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen. The Katadyn Group’s booth constantly had lots of traffic, and new products from the Optimus kitchen found huge interest among trade professionals. One eye-catcher in particular was the new Optimus BOB outdoor sponge that lets you clean pots and pans simply and scratch free even when on the road. Klaus Barow from Lauche & Maas Germany won the contest to guess “how many BOBs are in the container.” He won a package of Katadyn outdoor products in a practical pack. The best outdoor weather during the show’s run meant everyone was in a good mood.

Aquafides at Suisse Public

Aquafides was at the Suisse Public show in Bern, Switzerland, June 18-21, 2013, to present new industrial water treatment products. Trade attendees could find out more about our UV systems, UV lamps, Katadyn MF Filters and Elektro-Katadyn systems in the 48-square-meter booth. The show again was a success this year. A large number of visitors showed a lot of interest in our products and that reflected the satisfaction of our customers. The opportunity to discuss technical points on-site with our highly qualified booth staff was well received. Suisse Public is the ideal place to deepen customer relationships and to get direct feedback from municipal water managers that work with Aquafides UV systems [TI2] daily. Aquafides has been part of the Katadyn Group since late 2009 as the brand expanded its business into the category of industrial and community water treatment and took over majority ownership of Aquafides[TI3] Switzerland and Germany.

Kemptthal-based Katadyn Group receives regional development award

Just days before the Katadyn Group held the grand opening for its new Headquarters, it was conferred the annual development grant of the area township of Illnau-Effretikon, Lindau and Kyburg. The honor is given annually to an enterprise for its extraordinary contributions to economic development. Chairman Adrian Schmassmann and CEO Trix Ammann were delighted to accept the grant endowed with 7,000 Swiss francs that was generously increased by the Lindau township to 10,000 Swiss francs. “We hope to pay back these advance laurels in the next few years in the form of jobs and taxes,“ said Adrian Schmassmann in receiving the award at company headquarters. Government officials from the area township expressed their confidence they had selected the correct candidate for the prize. Money received will be used to benefit the indigenous peoples of the remote Chiapas region in southeastern Mexico. In cooperation with Mexican partner Bio Derivados, plus the government organization Sedesol and the Mexican Department of Health, the Katadyn Group has outfitted households in the Chiapas region with water filters since 2007. The disease and mortality rate has clearly dropped in the last few years due to this. With 10,000 Swiss francs, another 70 to 80 families will be able to receive a Katadyn Drip gravity filter.

Trek'n Eat tasting at Transa flagship store

More than 300 customers taste-tested our Trek’n Eat meals on Saturday, June 29, in the new Transa flagship store in Zurich. The poor weather helped to attract more customers to the store than at any other time since its grand opening the previous fall. Katadyn Sales Manager Beda Bischof was personally on-site. He was pleased to be able to introduce customers to the variety of meals that are made with such care. Transa, the leading retailer of travel and outdoor gear in Switzerland, has successfully sold Trek’n Eat outdoor meals for years.

Markets & Customers

Seen in the US

Katadyn Hiker Pro receives five out of five stars

The Katadyn Hiker Pro was featured in the June 2013 Summer Fishing Issue of Field & Stream. Field & Stream readers/reviewers hiked into the backcountry with four water filters to see which delivered the best performance and the tastiest drink. With water weighing 8 lbs/gallon, backpackers who want to go light need an easy, dependable way to filter water from natural sources. Katadyn is proud to announce that the Katadyn Hiker Pro recieved 5 out of 5 stars, the best rating out of the 4 filters tested. The testers were very impressed with the overall construction, how quick it was to clean and the quick connect fittings to allow an easy installation and removal of the input and output hoses. Tester Mason Coyle of Missouri stated that he beat the snot out of it, and it kept delivering good, clean water.

Another great review on the Optimus Vega stove

We are happy to announce that the Optimus Vega won "Best Buy" in the spring Edition of the UK Magazine "The Great Outdoors". It was up against products from Trangia, Esbit, Clikstand, MSR, Primus, Soto, Jetboil, Coleman, Vango, Gelert and Go System. The biggest plus points according to the magazine are the Vega's low profile, the inverted canister support, and its light weight.

Optimus stoves and Trek'n Eat meals at the Arc'teryx Alpine Arc'ademy

More than 300 participants from 19 countries took part in a variety of workshops over three days during the Arc'teryx Alpine Arc'ademy in mid-June. Taking place for the second year at the Aiguille du Midi in Chaminox, France, the event has developed into an internationally recognized “university” for alpinists. The bivouac workshop on the Col du Midi offered participants the unique chance to sleep at almost 4,000 meters with Arc'teryx athletes Ines Papert, Luka Lindic, Jacob Slot and Conny Zamernik, as well as with mountain guide Gian Luck. The two groups of alpinists bivouacked comfortably for a night thanks to Hilleberg tents, Optimus stoves and alpine meals from Trek'n Eat.

Katadyn supports DAV Expedition Team 2015

The DAV Expedition Team 2015 is now final. Sixteen young men ages 15 to 25 applied to be a part of the team. Those nominated for the team after an intensive training week were: Ludwig Karrasch, Josef Pfnür, Raffaele Sebastiani, Franz-Xaver Mayer, Andreas Hammerstingl and Tobias Karpinski. Training already began this summer as a part of the DAV Expedition Team scholarship program. Training lasts 2½ years and concludes with a final expedition in 2015. David Göttler is excited about the new team. As head trainer for the second time of the DAV Expedition Team, he can pass on his experience and skills as an expedition mountaineer to dedicated up-and-coming youth alpinists. Now a tradition, Katadyn Germany also supports the DAV Expedition Team 2013-15. Support of the next generation is important to us. We are excited about a solid collaboration and our work with the youth. The DAV Expedition Team is supported by products from the brands Katadyn, Optimus and Trek'n Eat.

2013 Katadyn North America Clinic Season

Katadyn North America believes that product knowledge is very important when selling or buying drinking water systems, camp stoves or dehydrated food. To support this, Katadyn North America participates in training events throughout the United States from March through July, our peak selling months. Hundreds of retail staff attend these training sessions and clinics hosted by the regional sales representatives. The sales staff walk away having more knowledge about how to position the Katadyn Group brands. This year, Katadyn North America held a gear drawing to all staff who attended their training sessions. Each week, 6 winners were randomly drawn to win some great outdoor gear ranging from a $35 Optimus and AlpineAire Meal kit to the Grand Prize package valued at over $1500 that included a Katadyn Pocket Filter, Luggage, Tent, Sleeping Bag, Backpack, AlpineAire 7-Day Meal Kit, Optimus Vega Stove and other Optimus accessories.

Trevor Thomas Relies on the Katadyn Group Brands

Katadyn North America is a proud partner and sponsor of Team Farsight. Trevor Thomas, 44, lost his sight because of a rare eye disease when he was 35. In 2005, 15 months after he become blind, he hiked the Appalachian Trail. Thomas became the first blind person in history to complete an unassisted, solo end-to-end thru-hike on this trail. Since then, Trevor and his guide dog, Tennille have been doing record setting hikes along with motivational speaking for numerous clubs and groups. Trevor's goal for Team FarSight is to not only demonstrate what is possible through these expeditions, but to raise money to provide services for others who are blind so that they can achieve their own personal goals and live more independent lives. Katadyn North America and their brands, Katadyn, Optimus and AlpineAire are proud sponsors of Team Farsight. You can find out more information on Trevor and his program on www.blindhikertrevorthomas.com.

With the Katadyn Pocket Filter on a grand tour

The founders of Incredible Journeys have already been to the summit of Everest and are enthusiastic users of the Katadyn Pocket Filter. Their last trip took them to the Manaslu Circuit Trek in Nepal, and the Pocket Filter was as always in their bags. Every morning, they filter 12 liters of water for the four-person team. The water was bacteriologically flawless, as was its taste. The robust Pocket Filter is well suited for long use for many years, even under extreme conditions. The silver-impregnated filter element works reliably against bacteria and protozoa. The Katadyn Pocket carries a guarantee of 20 years, the only water filter to do so.

500 packages of Trek'n Eat biscuits for disaster response

The nonprofit relief organization @fire Internationalen Katastrophenschutz e.V. (@fire International Disaster Response Inc.) is delighted about a special donation: Katadyn Germany is supporting the organization with 500 packages of Trek'n Eat biscuits. The Trekking Biscuits aren’t really a sweet treat for volunteers to nibble on. In fact, they are an essential between-meal snack for rescue teams all over the world during often complicated and arduous assignments.

“These biscuits will be used as emergency meals for our teams that are operating remotely outside of our camps. Our people have to be highly mobile, but they are often under high stress. Often, it’s simply ill advised to grab a snack near crisis areas at the next available street stand or mobile food cart with ‘local’ goods. These biscuits are superb light snacks between meals. They are lightweight, nutritious and don’t spoil either – exactly what we need for emergency operations,” said Jan Südmersen, @fire chairman.

Members of the relief organization @fire, which was founded in 2002, volunteer their efforts and receive no pay. They move quickly and offer professional international aid in devastating disasters, particularly in fighting wildfires and performing earthquake rescue operations. “Sometimes it’s just the small, seemingly trivial things that in serious situations are essential and that can provide huge help. We are excited to support @fire with this delivery of Trek’n Eat Trekking biscuits,” said Stefanie Dietrich, managing director of Katadyn Deutschland GmbH.

The partnership between Katadyn and @fire International Disaster Response isn’t a new one. In 2010, Katadyn offered support to a 22-person response team for relief operations in Haiti with 300 Trek’n Eat meals and water treatment products.

Mistrust in a turnaround in energy policy is growing. Survivalists, companies and anxious citizens are already preparing for the need in an emergency to survive without electricity. What to do if there is in fact no electricity? The German minister of the interior overseeing the Federal Agency for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief recommends every citizen have 14 days of basic food supplies that keep without freezing. The Survival Packs from Emergency Food guarantee optimal nutrition in an emergency. The selection and combination of the packs offered was decided on based on strict nutritional science. The focus is put on a balanced combination of vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fibers necessary for survival. For our Emergency Food, we use only the highest quality dried and freeze-dried specialty foods. The meals are mild and are also especially suited for small children and older persons. As of fall 2013, we will also offer a 7 Days Food Package in addition to the current Survival Packs for 30 or 90 days or 12 months.

Outdoor nutrition field tested with stoves and cookware from Optimus

Everybody who heads off down the road less traveled without a restaurant around the corner needs to have something to eat in his or her pack, something nutritious and of course also easy to carry. Meals in a pouch, for example from Trek’n Eat, are usually the right choice. Pros: They keep for months, plus for the most part the meals maintain their original flavor, vitamins and nutrients. The only prerequisite for all of these meals is hot water. In a video segment from the German channel n-tv (German only), different brands of outdoor meals were tested recently. Optimus provided stoves and cookware. The results of the taste-tasting of the meals in a pouch can be seen in this video. The entire test can be found in the current edition of the Swiss magazine “Outdoorguide".

Big Trek'n Eat Test on www.bergfreunde.de

The German online retailer bergfreunde.de has done some exact testing and tasting of our Trek’n Eat meals. The freeze-dried dishes from Trek’n Eat offer minimal weight and maximal energy for all outdoor activities. And all of that without preservatives, artificial colors and flavor-enhancing additives. That’s what our "All Natural" label on every Trek’n Eat product stands for. Resealable standup pouches that need only minimal amounts of hot water added have been well recognized among Trek’n Eat fans for a long time. Trek’n Eat pouches are easy to open, even with gloves on, thanks to tear notches and perforations. Also on the packaging is valuable information in six languages about the meal and any possible allergens in them. Click here to see the test from bergfreunde.de.

Katadyn Company News

Open House at the new headquarters of The Katadyn Group in Switzerland

Katadyn Products AG opened its doors in Switzerland for business partners, neighbors, associates and their families on June 1, 2013. More than 300 guests showed up for the dedication of the company’s new headquarters despite pouring rain. The dedication speech at the headquarters in Kemptthal near Zurich was given by Chairman Adrian Schmassmann. Afterward, he and CEO Trix Ammann led tours through the new production halls, offices and warehouses for those interested. A festive mood reigned in a tented area. While the grown-ups enjoyed the ample buffet and conversed with each other, the little ones were entertained by magician Dan White. Thanks to everyone who came to visit. The day was over too quickly – just the rain went on and on.

The Katadyn Group sets future strategic course

The Katadyn Group sets future strategic course and the revenue hurdle of CHF 50 million moves within reach. 2012 was a successful year for the Katadyn Group, marked by forward-looking investments domestically and internationally. Group revenues hit CHF 45.5 million and thus were 7.4% higher than the prior year. In particular, though, 2012 was the year crucial steps were taken in laying a foundation for continued future success. In the fall, the Swiss headquarters moved into a new factory and office building in Kemptthal outside of Zurich. And in August, after a short construction period of only 10 months, a new production facility in Romania was opened. In addition, in the United States, the brand portfolio was expanded with an asset acquisition of a freeze-dried food company.

Katadyn Germany welcomes Franziska Heinritz

Katadyn Germany gives a hearty welcome to Franziska Heinritz. Franziska has assisted the operations team of Katadyn Germany since April 8, 2013. The 29 year old comes from the camping and RV sector and is already excited to be able to greet customers at the Caravan Salon show in Dusseldorf. In her freetime, she likes to travel or ride her bike.

E-Mail Address for Sales Inquiries

In order to ensure that your sales inquiries are answered as quickly as possible, we ask that you always use the general email for our inside sales team: sales.admin@katadyn.ch